Many thought it was a joke, but SpaceX and Tesla Motors founder Elon Musk really did launch an electric car into space. Not only that, he did it with the world's largest rocket — and David Bowie's songs accompanied it on its journey.
Right now, in the dark depths of the universe, a car radio is tuned to Space Oddity. Unfortunately, sound does not travel through space and silence reigns supreme, drowning out the sweet, melancholic notes of David Bowie's song. It is the 1972 track that will accompany a journey of billions of years — that of a cherry-red Tesla Roadster. On board, a mannequin dressed as an astronaut, destination: Mars.
Yes indeed, Elon Musk never ceases to amaze us. The South African-born, naturalised American entrepreneur, founder of aerospace company SpaceX and of Tesla Motors, has launched one of his company's electric vehicles into orbit — specifically, the first sports car of the modern era not to run on petrol. "I love the idea of a car drifting apparently endlessly through space and perhaps being discovered by an alien race millions of years from now," Musk said.
The Roadster was aboard the colossal Falcon Heavy, the largest and most powerful rocket available on Earth, on which SpaceX has been working since 2011. It is made up of three separate missiles (the boosters), has 27 engines and is capable of carrying a payload of 64 tonnes. The aim is to use it to put very heavy satellites, exploration robots and large telescopes into orbit. Despite its enormous potential, costs will be reduced: the three boosters are designed to return to Earth once the mission is complete, and can therefore be reused. This will make it possible to spend "only" $90 million to put a satellite into orbit, compared to the $350 million charged by other space companies (which, in any case, do not have the capacity to carry such heavy payloads).
The Falcon Heavy launched from the famous Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 3:45 pm local time (9:45 pm Italian time) and was a success. Only the side boosters, however, managed to land back on Earth, performing a perfect choreography that SpaceX staff and hundreds of Americans armed with smartphones watched in astonishment. The central rocket was made up of two units, called stages: the one containing the Tesla continued its journey into space, while the other, which was supposed to glide onto a platform in the ocean, was destroyed because it failed to slow down during landing.
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The surprises were not over: the cameras on board the Roadster captured a sign on the car's dashboard reading "Don't panic!" — a quote from Douglas Adams's novel Guida galattica per gli autostoppisti. Elon Musk had announced in December that the car radio would be left playing Space Oddity. In the launch simulation video, however, the soundtrack is provided by the notes of Life on Mars?, another David Bowie hit that also accompanied the first images broadcast from the space centre. Quite fitting, given that in the plans of Musk and SpaceX, the Tesla was supposed to enter Mars's orbit. Instead, it ended up in the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
The Falcon Heavy is revolutionary, just as the cars sold by Elon Musk's company are. Admittedly, unlike electric vehicles it pollutes quite a lot, but at least it will allow us to escape from Earth should it become uninhabitable. And we could even bring a few Teslas along with us.
